Marlins catcher Fortes a guiding force with so many pitchers this season
Nick Fortes crouched behind the plate and waited for Valente Bellozo’s first delivery, ready for whatever would come Wednesday with the rookie on the mound.
The Miami Marlins have sent out 17 different starting pitchers this season. Fortes has caught them all, navigating the assortment of batterymates with ease.
“He handles the pitchers really well,” manager Skip Schumaker said before Wednesday’s 4-3 walk-off win against the Nationals at loanDepot park, a 10-inning thriller that featured Fortes breaking up a no-hitter in the sixth and Bellozo throwing six scoreless innings while allowing three hits.
Xavier Edwards gave the Marlins their 10th walk-off of the season — tied for most in the majors — with an RBI single.
Before the game, Fortes described working with numerous different starters as both “cool” and “challenging.”
“I take pride in trying to help these guys get through innings and have quality starts and quality outings,” he said.
“Ideally, you have a similar staff throughout the year where you get to really know these guys and what they like to do. But that’s just not the case right now.”
Fortes’ unfamiliarity with many of the starters — and the new guys in the bullpen, for that matter — has prompted him to pick the brain of Marlins’ pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.
“He’s got a lot more information about them than I do, readily available,” Fortes said. “So, I sit down and see what he has to say about them, and then I talk to the pitcher after and see what his thoughts are, try to get into his mind.
“The toughest thing is when they get on the mound, don’t have a certain pitch that day, and they have guys on base in a crucial situation. What can I go to in that time and feel confident with? That takes experience to know what those guys like to go to in those moments.”
Schumaker said Fortes, who last month became the first in franchise history to be behind the plate for three consecutive shutout wins, excels in identifying pitchers’ strengths and adjusting as needed.
“Catchers get caught attacking a game plan so much that they’re not reading the game,” he said. “Going off our strengths and not just their weaknesses is a big deal. … Having a little bit of a veteran presence back there trying to slow the game down for some of the young guys is helpful.”
Defensively, Fortes has been “really good at blocking [pitches in the dirt]” and “outstanding throwing guys out,” Schumaker noted.
Entering Wednesday’s game, Fortes was tied for second in the National League with 11 blocks above average, according to Baseball Savant. He was third among NL catchers in runners caught stealing (23) — most for a Marlins catcher since J.T. Realmuto’s 25 in 2017.
“I love it,” Fortes said. “It’s probably one of the more fun things we get to do as a catcher because it has a direct impact on the game.”
Fortes also has started to make a mark with his hitting. Wednesday, he lined a double to left field off Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore to score Griffin Conine from first base.
Conine, who had walked to end Gore’s bid for a perfect game, slid into home headfirst with arms outstretched to narrowly beat out the tag.
It was Fortes’ fifth hit in three games. Schumaker said before Wednesday’s game that while the plan is to give backup Jhonny Pereda a couple of games each week the rest of this season, “I like to ride the hot hand and Fortes has been swinging the bat really well.”
Fortes came in batting .323 (31 of 96) with nine RBI, six doubles and a home run since July 2.
“I’ve just been patient,” Fortes said. “I’m starting to become a more well-rounded hitter, being able to hit the ball to all parts of the field rather than just pull the ball.”
An inning after Fortes doubled, Otto Lopez doubled to center off reliever Jacob Barnes to score Jonah Bride for a 2-0 lead.
The Nationals struck back with three runs in the eighth.
Reliever Mike Baumann surrendered two walks and a single to start the inning. Calvin Faucher entered with the bases loaded and walked José Tena. Andrés Chaparro grounded into a fielder’s choice to knot the score, and James Wood doubled to left off Faucher to give the Nationals the lead.
The Marlins pulled even in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Edwards and Connor Norby singled, setting up Jake Burger’s RBI single to left.
Conine started the 10th at second base, Fortes grounded out to advance him, and Edwards recorded his first hit in nine at-bats since returning from the injured list.
“I thought we were getting no hit there for a minute the way Gore was throwing the baseball,” Schumaker said. “So, to come out of that with a win is pretty awesome.”
▪ Jesús Sánchez was not in the lineup after back spasms Tuesday from a head-first slide into second base, but pinch hit in the ninth and reached on an infield single to third. Derek Hill replaced Sánchez as a pinch-runner.
▪ Sandy Alcantara threw another bullpen session, and Schumaker liked what he saw from the right-hander recovering from Tommy John surgery in October.
“It felt like a midseason bullpen for him last year,” Schumaker said. “He was throwing at the top of the zone really well. His changeup looked really good. He’s always had the sinker. I haven’t seen him spin a ball yet aggressively. That’s probably going to be the next step. But I think he’ll be able to do that in a hurry. … But mid-90s fastball in September coming off Tommy John is insane.”
▪ Lefty Ryan Weathers (strained index finger) allowed two hits and struck out three in three scoreless innings for Single A Jupiter Tuesday.
“I thought all his pitches, watching it, were very similar to when he was here,” Schumaker noted. “Best case scenario would be to have a start up here at the end [of the season].”
▪ The Marlins added left-handed pitcher Anthony Veneziano to their active roster. Veneziano was claimed off waivers from the Royals on Tuesday. The Marlins also optioned right-hander George Soriano to Triple A Jacksonville.